Battle of Malakoff

Overview

The Battle of Malakoff or the Storming of the Malakhov Kurgan was a series of French attacks against Russian forces on the Malakoff redoubt. The first attack was unsuccessful, and occurred on 18 June 1855; subsequent capture of the redoubt was on 8 September 1855. The assaults were parts of the Crimean War and the siege of Sevastopol. The French army under General MacMahon successfully stormed the Malakoff redoubt on 8th, while a simultaneous British attack on the Redan to the south of the Malakoff was repulsed. In one of the war's defining moments, the French zouave Eugène Libaut raised the French flag on the top of the Russian redoubt. The battle of Malakoff resulted in the fall of Sevastopol on 9 September, bringing the 11-month siege to an end.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Malakoff encompassed a series of French assaults on the Malakoff redoubt during the siege of Sevastopol, a centerpiece of the Crimean War. The initial attack on 18 June 1855 failed, but the successful storming on 8 September 1855 proved decisive. MacMahon's forces seized the redoubt while a simultaneous British assault on the Redan to the south was repulsed, making the French effort the single action that broke Russian resistance. The symbolic moment came when French zouave Eugène Libaut raised the French flag atop the redoubt. The fall of the Malakoff directly triggered the fall of Sevastopol on 9 September, ending an eleven-month siege and delivering the war's most consequential territorial result. The capture of Sevastopol effectively determined the outcome of the Crimean War, forcing Russia toward the peace settlement that followed.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)